Does it again after submitting guilty plea.
Shaun Bridges, 35, was part of a government investigation of deep-web market Silk Road. And during that, he decided to appropriate around $800,000 worth of Bitcoin for personal gain.
He walked out with, among other things, a private key in order to be able to access a digital wallet containing approximately 1,606 bitcoin […] That digital wallet was the product of a forfeiture seizure action where Mr. Bridges was the affiant and the proceeds were taken from an exchange called Bitstamp. And they contained, among other things, bitcoin that had illegally been obtained by his prior codefendant, Carl Force, a former DEA agent. – Assistant United States Attorney William Frentzen
But that’s not where it ended. After submitting a guilty plea for the theft, he was caught trying to transfer another 1600 bitcoin in secret. Why anyone would steal something like that considering the amount of scrutiny he was under is beyond me. And then do it again while he was already caught is even more baffling.
Needless to say, this has probably complicated Bridges’ sentencing. The Bitcoin in question was auctioned off by the government below market value; though currently that second amount would be worth over $11 million dollars, according to Reuters.
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